Lighthouse makes final close of Fund-III at $250 million

Mid-market private equity firm Lighthouse has made the final close of its third India-focused investment vehicle—Lighthouse India Fund III—at $250 million (Rs 1,750 crore), taking its total assets under management to about $500 million.

Lighthouse India Fund-III, which will invest between $10 million and $25 million across sectors such as education, consumer internet, consumer products and finance, is backed by a host of global institutional investors, including International Finance Corp, the private investment arm of the World Bank, and development finance institutions CDC Group and DEG.

The fund, which also counts a number of global endowments, family offices and pension funds among its limited partners, was reported to have made its first close in March last year. IFC, CDC and DEG have cumulatively invested about $80 million in the latest fund.

“We thank our existing investors, many of whom have backed our efforts for a decade plus, and we welcome our new investors into the family,” the firm said in its official statement. “Their support will allow us to continue to find and back great entrepreneurs, building strong long-term businesses, encouraging them to dream, dare, scale, and care.”

According to the PE firm, it has already closed four investments from its new fund. The Mumbai-headquartered investor has pumped money into Tynor, footwear company Aqualite, mattress brand Duroflex, and online beauty retailer Nykaa.

“We plan on making 10-12 investments from Fund-III, with our existing investors also having committed an additional $20 million that will go towards backing a number of our high-growth portfolio companies,” Sachin Bhartiya, partner at Lighthouse, told ET.

Lighthouse’s portfolio also has a number of well-known consumer product companies, including Fab India, Wow! Momo, Kama Ayurveda and Bikaji Foods, transactions that have been made from its $134-million fund-II.

The PE firm has already marked two partial exits from its portfolio, having sold some stake in Kama Ayurveda and Bikaji Foods.

Founded in 2006 by Bhartiya, Sean Sovak and Mukund Krishnaswami, Lighthouse joins a list of PE firms that have hit the market to raise their next funds.

In May last year, CX Partners was reported to have made the first close of its sector-agnostic fund at $140 million, while JM Financial was also reported to be close to hitting the final close of nearly Rs 600 crore for its second private equity fund.